


Why did it have to be you?

by JadedSoul



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Gen, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 02:48:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4002940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadedSoul/pseuds/JadedSoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From a prompt on tumblr: Reverse soulmate au where your soulmates last words are tattooed on your skin rather than their first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Why did it have to be you?

There were days when she would look at it, contemplate the implications of what the writing could mean, what kind of person she would encounter that she could love so deeply, their dying breath would survive as a permanent reminder of her loss on her skin. But mostly, Root had never paid much attention to the black ink etched into her arm.

It was a common phrase "oh, for god's sake," and who the hell would say that as they were dying, she always thought. Besides even if soulmates existed, people were flawed, a blight on the earth, she wanted nothing to do with them. Killing them was easier than loving them.

Root never expected she would change, that there would be a person, let alone people, she cared about.

When she met Shaw, it all started as a game, increase the flirtation to keep Shaw off balance. Yet, Shaw never truly seemed to be off balance, flustered at times, irritated most of the time certainly but Root never truly came out ahead in their encounters.

Then the Machine began pairing them up for missions more and more and one day there was Shaw, saving her from a Decima agent after riding a bike to New Jersey and crawling under the fence. That was the day Root decided to give in to skid, the day she finally admitted to herself she was hopelessly in love with Sameen Shaw. Root would do everything and anything to keep her safe.

Not that Shaw made it easy. Every moment with her was an adventure, a challenge, that's what made it fun.

The fun stopped the minute Shaw was compromised.

When the Machine told her Shaw was compromised and Martine was after her, Root stopped breathing for a moment before getting on her bike to save her.

As she rode, the thought _"please don't die"_ ran on a loop in her mind.

Root could have hugged Shaw so hard she lifted her off the ground when she emerged alive and unharmed from the building, but they needed to get away fast.

Root hadn't realized how utterly defenseless she was against Shaw until Shaw was begging with her, "please."

But she had thought Shaw was safe for now, she may not stay down but she was safe.

Landing in the basement of the stock exchange and discovering it was a trap, Root had just been happy Shaw wasn't trapped with them. She was even happier as she hugged the corner around the elevator, pinned down by gunfire and bleeding from a shot to her abdomen. She keyed up her earpiece knowing that she would be speaking to Shaw one last time before she met her end. Thinking _"I'm dying so she stays safe, I will protect her with my last breath"_ as she did so.

Still, Root couldn't help the feeling of relief and elation she felt when Shaw, that amazing little firecracker, arrived in the nick of time to save all of them. She was so euphoric she even pushed a little harder, said a little more than she should have and couldn't have smiled brighter as they fought their way through Samaritan together.

They always were better together.

**"Oh, for god's sake!"**

Those words that had been a constant reminder of the suffering she would endure should she let herself feel.

Those words that had been with her since childhood.

Those words that she missed Shaw saying in the following kiss.

Those words that came screaming back at her as she launched herself at the elevator door.

But all she could do was scream right back and watch, watch as the woman she loved, the woman she now knew as her soulmate bled out on the floor in front of her.

And she fell.

Fell as the elevator fell and the shot rang out above.

She couldn't breath, couldn't move, all Root could do was scream.

Scream and look at the traitorous words on her arm.

She was never supposed to fall in love, she didn't even think she could.

Root fell back against the wall of the elevator, tears flowing down her face, refusing to end, and she cradled her arm just staring at those words.

The last bit of Shaw she would ever know and the part that would stay with her forever.

It was while staring at her arm she noticed new writing appear beneath the old.

Shocked, Root waited for them to become clear.

_**"Guess you were the end of me afterall."** _

Root couldn't believe what she was seeing, those words were Shaw's.

Shaw who had just died but must have been revived by Samaritan.

Root steeled her gaze and stood.

Those words meant Shaw was alive.

Shaw was alive and Root had to find her before she lost her again.

Even if she wasn't Shaw's soulmate in return.

Even if it meant she was the one to kill her in the end.

**Author's Note:**

> slowly moving tumblr posts over, thanks for reading :)


End file.
